Safety lock for refrigerators



July 13, 1965 J. F. HARGER SAFETY LOCK FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed oct. 24, 196s INVENTOR 'J9/naa F lia/yer BYZ Z A Har/1e y.

Kw1 JILL 1P l l Na L i .Illdllllllll Il United States Patent O 3,194,190 SAFETY LOCK FOR REFRIGERATORS James F. Harger, 12001 Alberta St., Sugar Creek, Mo. Filed er. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 318,730 2 Claims. (Cl. 10Q-63.5)

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety apparatus for refrigerators, and has as its principal object the provision of a safety lock operable, once the door of an abandoned refrigerator has been opened, to positively prevent closing of said door.

The tragedy of a child entering an abandoned refrigerator, closing the door, and then suifocating due to inability to reopen the door, is all too often repeated, and is well known and abhorrent to the general public. Strangely, it has been known to occur in refrigerators the doors of which are held closed only by magnetic latches, and which can be opened from the inside simply by pressing on the door, as well as in refrigerators the doors of which are secured closed by positive mechanical latches which are operable only from the outside. This is perhaps due to a psychological oddity which prevents the entrapped child from even attempting to escape, or perhaps it is due to the fact that due to lack of sufficient oxygen to breathe, the child very quickly becomes too dull and lethargic to appreciate his predicament.

Accordingly, the presentinvention contemplates a latch device having an operative position in which it positively prevents closure of the refrigerator door, but having restraining means for securing said latch in an inoperative position, thereby permitting normal opening and closing of the door, except under conditions which are virtually certain to exist when the refrigerator is discarded and abandoned.

Further, the restraining means for securing the latch in its inoperative position is electrically operable, deriving its operating electric current from the main power wires serving the refrigerator, said wires of course being plugged into the usual wall socket during usage. When the refrigerator is discarded, it of course is not plugged in, so that the restraining means is inoperative, and the latch moves to its operative position whenever the door is opened.

Further, to reduce the electricity consumption of the restraining means to a bare minimum, the latch device is so arranged that the restraining means need be energized only when the door is actually open, and means are provided fo`r interrupting the circuit of said restraining means whenever the door is closed.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, efficiency and dependability of operation, adaptabil-` ity to be virtually completely concealed, and adaptability for insertion in virtually any type of refrigerator, either asV original equipment or as an accessory to be added to preexisting refrigerators.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an electric refrigerator incorporating therein a safety lock embodying the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken on line lI-II of FIG. l, with portions left in elevation and portions broken away, and including the wiring diagram in schematic form,

FIG. 3 is a sectional View taken on line III-III of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a` sectional View taken on line IV-IV of FIG. 2, with the door opened and the safety lock actuated to prevent closure of said door.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts through-` out the several views, and the numeral 2 applies generally to an electric refrigerator including a hollow body 4 open BJQLLIQ@ Patented July 13, 1965 at the front, the front opening being normally closed by a door 6 connected to the body for horizontal pivotal movement by vertical hinges 8 atone side thereof, the opposite side of the door normally being secured against the body to hold the door closed by a manually operable latch 1t) accessible only from the exterior of the refrigerator. As will be seen in FIGS. 2-4, the side walls 12 of the refrigerator body each consist of parallel, spaced apart sheet metal panels 14 and 16, the spaces therebetween being filled with a heat insulating material 18, the front edge of the side wall being formed by an edge panel 20 ailixed to panels 14 and 16. Door 6 likewise consists of spaced apart sheet metal panels 22 and 24 with heat insulating material 26 therebetween. The space between the door and the forward face of the body is sealed, when the door is closed, by a sealing strip 28 of soft rubber or the like.

The safety lock forming the subject matter of the present invention includes an abutment member such as stud 30 and a latch mechanism indicated generally by the numeral 32. Stud 3i) has the form of a `short rod secured to the inner panel 22`of door 6 adjacent the hinged edge thereof by screw 34 and washer 36, and extending rearwardly therefrom. When the door is closed, as in FIG. 2, the stud extends through a hole 38 formed therefor in the front edge panel 20 of the adjacent side wall 12 of the refrigerator body, into the interior of said wall.` When the door is open, as in FIG. 4, the stud is withdrawn from hole 3S. The rearward or free end of the stud is tapered as shown. i

Within side wall 12 of the refrigerator body, in direct communication with hole 3S of edge panel 2t) thereof, a cavity 40 is formed in insulating material 18, and latch mechanism 32 is contained within said cavity. Said mechanism includes a base plate 42 which is generally planar, lying fiat against the inner surface of panel 20 and being rigidly secured thereto by any suitable means, such as by spot-welding as indicated at 44 in FIG. 3. Said base plate has a hole 46 formed therethrough in matching relationship to hole 38 of panel 20, so as to receive stud 3l) therethrough. Said holes may be horizontally elongated, as shown in FIG. 3, to allow for the angular movement of said stud as it is pivoted about the axis of door hinges 8.

A generally planar latch plate 48 lies at against the inner surface of base plate 42, being carried for vertical sliding movement in guideways 5t) formed. by inwardly folded edge portions of said base plate. The upper end portion of said latch plate is bent inwardly to form a horizontal tab 52 having a hole 54 formed therethrough. The reduced lower end portion 56 of a vertical solenoid armature 58 extends through said hole, and is secured Y loosely therein by a pair of lock nuts 60 threaded thereon. The coil 62 of the solenoid is riveted, as at 64, to a horizontal tab 66 formed by bending the upper end portion of base plate 42 inwardly. A helical spring 68 is disposed about armature 58, and is resiliently compressed between coil 62 and latch tab 52, whereby to bias the latch plate downwardly. However, said spring is sufiiciently Weak that it is overcome and the latch plate elevated, whenever coil 62 is electrically energized. The engagement of armature 5S in hole 54 of the latch tab is sufiiciently loose to compensate for any slight lack of parallelism between the solenoid and latch guides Si); It will be understood that whenever coil 62 is energized, the latch plate will be elevated by the solenoid to a position slightly higher than that shown in FIG. 2, thereby leaving hole 38-46 unobstructed to receive stud 30. When the coil is not energized, and the refrigerator door is closed, the latch plate rests on the upper edge of stud 3i) as in FIG. 2. If the door is opened to withdraw stud 3i), and coil 62 is not energized, the latch plate is moved downwardly, both by gravity and by spring 58, to obstruct hole Sit-46, thereby preventing re-entry of stud Si) through the hole and preventing door o from being closed. The downward movement of the latch plate is limited by the engagement of latch tab 52 with the upper ends of guides 5d.

An electric switch 70 is mounted adjacent the inner face of latch plate 48, being secured by a pair of bolts i2 to a bracket arm 74 integral with base plate 42. The specific construction of the switch is immaterial to the present invention, it being understood that the switch is of the normally closed type, and is operated by a pushbutton 76 extending upwardly from the case thereof. The switch is so disposed that when door 6 is closed, the tapered inner end of stud 3u engages and depresses pushbutton 76, as shown in FIG. 2, whereby to open the switch. When the door is opened, as in FIG. 4, the stud frees the push-button and the switch closes. lt will be noted that bolts 72 mounting the switch extend through a slot '78 of bracket arm 74 which is elongated in a direction parallel to stud 30. This permits adjustment of the switch, so that it will be properly operated by the stud despite variations in the normal spacing between the refrigerator body and door.

It will be understood that the refrigerator shown is electric, being provided with a pair of main electric supply wires 80 and 82 connected to the usual plug 84 adapted to be inserted into -a common electric wall outlet, and supplying current to the compressor 86 and other operating parts of the refrigerator. Solenoid coil 62 is connected across wires 30 and 82 through switch 7i), the circuit being from wire Si) through wire 88, coil 62, wire 9d, switch 76 and wire 92 to wire 82.

During normal usage of the refrigerator, with plug 84 connected to a source of electric current, opening of door 6 will cause stud 3u to move away from and free pushbutton 76, thereby causing switch iii to close to complete the operating circuit of solenoid coil 62. The solenoid thus energized, holds latch plate 48 in its elevated or inoperative position wherein it does not obstruct hole 38-46, whereby the door can be closed in the normal way. When the door is closed, stud 3i) depresses pushbutton 76 to open switch 70, thereby de-energizing the solenoid so that the latch plate 48 rests on the top of stud 30. However, if the door should be opened when plug 84 is not connected to a source of electric power, closure of switch '7h of course cannot energize the solenoid, and therefore when stud 30 is withdrawn from hole 38-46, latch plate 48 will drop to its operative position obstructing the hole, as shown in FlG. 4, so that the door cannot again be closed, at least not without first again connecting plug S4 to a source of power. Since an abandoned and discarded refrigerator is never connected with operating electric power, it will be seen that the safety lock provides a positive means of preventing a child from being entrapped therein.

Stud 3) should be of sufficiently long length to hold the door far enough from its closed position to prevent any possibility that the regular door latch lil could become engaged, but also suiciently short that a child could not open the door partially and enter the refrigerator without withdrawing stud 30 completely from hole 33-46 to permit the latch plate vto move to its operative position. Spring 68 provides more positive action of the latch plate, whereby to reduce any possibility that it could be jammed by dirt, rust or the like, and also provides force for moving the latch plate to its operative position in case the refrigerator is abandoned in any position other than upright, in which case said latch plate could not be moved to its operative position by gravity. The enclosure of the latch mechanism in a wall of the refrigerator also tends to prevent rust, dirt accumulation or the like which might render it inoperable.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious that many modications of structure and operation could be made within the purview of the invention. An abutment member other than stud 3i) and a latch mechanism other than latch plate 48 could be used, so long as they cooperate to hold Vdoor 6 open under the desired conditions. A latch restraining means other than a solenoid could be used, so long as said restraining means was electrically operable as shown. Switch 70 could be dispensed with entirely, the solenoid being connected directly across wires and 82 and operating continuously in normal usage, although a continuous-operation solenoid or other restraining means would be expensive and would consume a much greater amount of electricity. Latch mechanism 32 could be mounted in a separate housing aflixed inside the refrigerator, rather than inside a wall thereof as shown, and this would be a convenient arrangement in fitting pre-existing refrigerators with the safety lock. Also, stud Sil could be attached to the refrigerator body and the latch mechanism to the door if desired, and the safety lock also could be mounted at any edge of the door other than the hinged edge, although the projecting stud 3@ will be less obtrusive when mounted at the hinged edge as shown. lt is considered that all of these changes, as well as others, could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and Patent is:

1. I n combination with an electric refrigerator having a door movable between open and closed positions relative to a body portion having hollow walls, a safety lock comprising:

(a) a rod-like stud affixed to said door and operable to enter and project through a hole provided therefor in said body portion, into the interior of a wall of said body portion, as said door approaches its closed position,

(b) a latch plate mounted within said hollow body portion wall for movement at right angles to the axis of said hole between an operative position wherein it obstructs said hole to prevent the entry of said stud and thereby prevent closure of said door, and an inoperative position wherein it does not obstruct said hole,

(c) resilient means biasing said latch plate toward its operative position, and

(d) electrical latch retaining means operable when energized to retain said latch plate in its inoperative position against the pressure of said resilient biasing means, said latch retaining means being connected across said main electric supply wires whereby to be energized thereby.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1 wherein said stud, when it projects through said hole, obstructs movement of said latch plate toward its operative position, and with the addition of:

(a) a normally closed electrical switch mounted in said hollow body portion wall and connected electrically in the operating circuit of said latch retaining means, said switch being operable by said stud to be opened as said door is moved toits closed position, but after said stud has moved into the path of said latch plate to prevent movement of the latter to its operative position.

desire to protect by Letters References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,871,676 2/59 Miller et al 10Q-63.5 2,888,889 6/59 Courson 109-63.5 2,902,952 9/59 Kesling 109--63.5 3,068,811 12/62 Jenne et al l09-63.5

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR HAVING A DOOR MOVABLE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS RELATIVE TO A BODY PORTION AHVING HOLLOW WALLS, A SAFETY LOCK COMPRISING: (A) A ROD-LIKE STUD AFFIXED TO SAID DOOR AND OPERABLE TO ENTER AND PROJECT THROUGH A HOLE PROVIDED THEREFOR IN SAID BODY PORTION, INTO THE INTERIOR OF A WALL OF SAID BODY PORTION, AS SAID DOOR APPROACHES ITS CLOSED POSITION, (B) A LATCH PLATE MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOLLOW BODY PORTION WALL FOR MOVEMENT AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AXIS OF SAID HOLE BETWEEN AN OPERATIVE POSITION WHEREIN IT OBSTRUCTS SAID HOLE TO PREVENT THE ENTRY OF SAID STUD AND THEREBY PREVENT CLOSURE OF SAID DOOR, AND AN INOPERATIVE POSITION WHEREIN IT DOES NOT OBSTRUCT SAID HOLE, (C) RESILIENT MEANS BIASING SAID LATCH PLATE TOWARD ITS OPERATIVE POSITION,AND (D) ELECTRICAL LATCH RETAINING MEANS OPERABLE WHEN ENEERGIZED TO RETIAN SAID LATCH PLATE IN ITS INOPERATIVE POSITION AGAINST THE PRESSURE OF SAID RESILIENT BIASING MEANS, SAID LATCH RETAINING MEANS BEING CONNECTED ACROSS SAID MAIN ELECTRIC SUPPLY WIRES WHEREBY TO BE ENERGIZED THEREBY. 